Phone: 612-624-340
E-mail: peter016@umn.edu M.S. Forest Products Engineering (1968) – University of Minnesota, St. Paul
B.S. Forest Products Merchandising (1967) – University of Minnesota, St. Paul
Areas of Interest
I have an extension/teaching appointment but also have an interest in applied research that will help solve real-world wood use problems. My major interests are wood drying, wood-moisture relations, lumber grading, wood selection and use, and wood products marketing. Outreach activities emphasize educational programs that will help improve processing efficiency and profitability of wood products manufacturers. In addition, I work with youth audiences and provide information/advice to homeowners and other users of wood. Examples of ongoing extension offerings are the Kiln Drying short course, Lumber and Building Materials short course, and the Hardwood Lumber Grading short course.
Courses Taught BBE 3412 Building Materials Estimating BBE 4412W Bio-based Products Manufacturing and Applications II BBE 5412 Manufacturing and Applications of Bio-based Products BBE 3393 Directed Study
Extension Programs
Kiln Drying Short Course: Annual one week (currently 4 days) industry program which provides instruction covering the basics of kiln operation and wood-moisture relationships. I started this course in 1978 and have offered it on an annual basis since then. To date, approximately 750 kiln operators and other personnel have been trained. I organize/coordinate all activities associated with planning and conducting the course and provide the instruction for all “hands on” lab sessions, and several of the classroom presentations. The balance of the instruction is provided by various invited industry and academic professionals.
Hardwood Lumber Grading Short Course: Annual three day (5 days in earlier years) course which was started by my predecessor in 1970. In recent years, participation has averaged approximately 25 per course. I served as coordinator and secondary instructor from 1998 to 2006 when this Extension offering was dropped. Industry participants learned the basics of hardwood lumber grading under the National Hardwood Lumber Association rules. Lumber and Building Materials Short Course: The 59th annual offering of this University of Minnesota tradition was held in January 2008. The course which is two weeks in length is targeted to early career lumber yard/building materials firm employees. Attendance has ranged from about 30 to almost 100, but averaged closer to 40 in recent years. Since 2004 I have provided overall leadership for the planning and conduct of the course. Fifteen or more university and industry presenters are involved in providing in depth instruction on topics including product knowledge, building systems, marketing, work place environment, and building materials estimating. The short course is co-sponsored with the Northwestern Lumber Association State FFA Forestry/Forest Products Contest: I serve as faculty co-chair of this annual event held as part of the State FFA convention on the University of Minnesota StPaul campus. Approximately 20 Vo-Ag instructors and 150 high school students are involved in this event which tests the student’s knowledge of forestry and forest products. I also serve as an ongoing advisor to this project area and have participated in several contest revisions. Curriculum Vitae (.doc) | 
